'bursting to get back'

Saint David

COLEMAN CARES

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FRESH START

Cork City new boy Josh O'Hanlon hopes to follow in Seán Maguire's footsteps

Three rounds of midweek and one of Bank Holiday games will account for all but two of the additional fixtures.

The 2019 season will see the start of regular Saturday night Premier League football.

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Eight matches per season will be on offer under a three-year contract in which clubs are targeting an increase in the already sky high £5.14billion they earn from Sky Sports and BT Sport for the existing rights.

Basically, the Telegraph says that 200 matches have been divided into seven packages, A to G, with the first five featuring traditional kick-off times and the eight Saturday 7.45pm games.

Packages A and B each feature 32 matches at Saturday 12.30pm and 5.30pm, respectively; C has 24 games at Sunday 2pm and eight at Saturday 7.45pm; D contains 32 matches at Sunday 4.30pm; and E is made up of 24 matches at Monday 8pm or Friday 7.30pm-8pm and eight at Sunday 2pm.

THE SEVEN PACKAGES AVAILABLE IN 2019-22 PREMIER LEAGUE TV DEAL

Package A

32 matches – Saturday 12.30pm

Package B

32 matches – Saturday 5.30pm

Package C

24 matches – Sunday 2pm. 8 matches – Saturday 7.45pm

Package D

32 matches – Sunday 4.30pm

Package E

24 matches – Monday 8pm or Friday 7.30-8pm. 8 matches – Sunday 2pm

Package F

All 20 matches – from one Bank Holiday and one midweek fixture programme

Package G

All 20 matches – from two midweek fixture programmes

Package F features all 20 matches, from one Bank Holiday and one midweek fixture programme. Similarly package G includes all 20 games from two midweek fixture lists.

This season there are only three midweek rounds at the end of November, mid-December and the end of January, with Bank Holiday rounds falling around Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

'bursting to get back'

Saint David

COLEMAN CARES

Seamus Coleman donates €2,000 to jet two Irish Everton fans over to game

FRESH START

Cork City new boy Josh O'Hanlon hopes to follow in Seán Maguire's footsteps

The outcome is that using most of the extra games up in entire midweek rounds has emerged as its preferred method of doing so, with executive chairman Richard Scudamore ruling out additional Sunday slots.

It follows that midweek matches should help the league wrestle even more money out of its domestic broadcast partners, following 70 per cent hikes in each of the past two auctions.

Internet companies like Amazon and Facebook could rival Sky and BT in a bidding war that last time saw Sky pay £4.2 billion to keep the lion’s share of matches.